Lift-Off From Mirrin Prime
by Artemis1000
Summary: Time spent with his smuggler boyfriend is rare for New Republic pilot Poe Dameron. They value it all the more for it. Smuggler!Ben Solo AU.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Time spent with his smuggler boyfriend is rare for New Republic pilot Poe Dameron. They value it all the more for it.

Notes: Written for serceleste for The Kylo|Ben x Poe Fanworks Exchange 2017

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 **Lift-Off From Mirrin Prime**

 **by Artemis1000**

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 **Chapter 1**

"The Hutt got his parts, we are done here. Where to now?"

Sitting in the guts of the Millennium Falcon soldering a line that had been repaired so often it was more weld marks than anything else at this point, Ben raised his head at hearing his father's voice. A moment later he was yelping when his head knocked against a deck plate he hadn't bothered to remove. He squeezed himself through the hole in the deck plates, or rather, awkwardly squeezed his upper body through.

Captain Han Solo's once dark hair might have turned grey, but he still had the swagger of the young smuggler who had taken on Hutt crime lords and empires alike, and won the heart of a princess at the end of the day. He was also just as stubborn as ever, and while he looked very relaxed, downright bored lounging against the wall, Ben didn't buy it at all.

"Why are you asking me?" he snapped, dark eyes already narrowing in suspicion.

At 25, Ben Solo had a solid decade as a smuggler under his belt, but his Dad was still his Dad, and he was the Captain. He didn't often let Ben take the reins when it came to the Falcon, one of the many points they clashed on.

Ben had been ten when he was sent to his uncle Luke in the hope he could teach him to fight off the dark whispers that had haunted him all his life, and help him become the Jedi he was meant to be. He had been twelve when he understood that opening himself to the Force came with opening himself to a darkness within himself that terrified him. He had been fifteen when he realized one day that his nightmares of slaying his fellow students were no longer nightmares - they had become fantasies.

The following day, Ben Solo had boarded the Millennium Falcon and never returned. He hadn't touched his lightsaber for three years, till Poe Dameron smiled at him, and told him _I want to see it_ followed by _I trust you_.

Now, ten years later, his Dad flashed him a lazy smirk and asked, "What, I'm not allowed to be nice anymore?"

Ben responded with a look that was only slightly more incredulous than sullen. "No."

He climbed completely out of the maintenance shaft and took a moment to roll his shoulders. As a boy, he had loved crawling around in the Falcon's innards. Now, broad-shouldered and exceptionally tall, it was an eternal annoyance.

"But if you're asking me…" Ben felt heat flood his cheeks as it fell into place in his mind. Of course. He had known all along what he would ask for, and his Dad had known so as well.

Han gave a sharp, barking laugh. "We'll be picking up your farm boy. I called it. Chewie owes me the next round at Maz's."

This time, the look Ben shot him was all incredulity. "I always ask to visit Poe. How did you get Uncle Chewie to bet against you?"

"Does it matter? He's buying me a bottle of Maz's best Corellian whiskey, and if you're good I'll share."

His father sauntered away whistling an annoyingly cheerful tune under his breath – he never whistled, except when he knew it would annoy Ben – and Ben squeezed himself back into the Falcon's guts.

He was already back to welding when he realized that of course Uncle Chewie knew he was itching to see Poe, and so was Dad. He'd been heartbroken when Poe's leave was cancelled due to increased piracy in the sector.

"Kriff," he muttered under his breath. He owed them one for this.

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Ben sighed when the astromech just whirled around in excitement, chattering a mile a minute in binary.

 _"_ _I have to tell Poe! Poe will be happy! Poe missed Ben, he was sad and boring all the time!"_

"No. No. Beebee, listen to me."

 _"_ _Poe will be happy!"_ There was more whirling, and a few bumps against his shin that were bound to bruise. " _Let me go, I have to tell Poe!"_

He rubbed his temples, and sighed.

So much for his grand plans of surprising Poe, with BB-8 as his accomplice. The droid was enthusiastic, for sure, but too enthusiastic. Poe would figure out the source of this enthusiasm as soon as he caught sight of him.

Good news was, he had made it successfully onto the New Republic Navy base Poe was currently stationed on, thank you for being officially listed as Poe's partner in his personnel file. Bad news was, he was not permitted to be anywhere near the hangar.

Fortunately, Han Solo's son was nothing if not sneaky and very good at disappearing himself. Now he just needed BB-8 to lure Poe into this abandoned maintenance shed right by the tarmac, and preferably _before_ Poe was informed that he had a visitor waiting for him.

Heaving a distinctly disgruntled sigh, Ben crouched down, getting on eye level with BB-8 like Poe did. "Beebee? Please"

The little droid rolled to a halt in front of him, and its head dome turned till the single large black optic looked at him. It made a big show of zooming in… on his nose.

Ben sighed. It could be just as obnoxiously stubborn as Poe.

 _"_ _Can I go tell Poe now?"_

"No. Not until you promise me that you're going to bring him here so I can surprise him. Can I trust you to remember that?"

The only answer Ben got was a very rude bleep.

He was about ready to get to the tearing-out-his-hair stage, the one only the Falcon's mysterious malfunctions and BB-8 ever inspired in him, when very familiar chuckles made him look up.

There stood Poe by the door, still in his sweaty orange flight suit, hair sweaty and ruffled from the helmet. Utterly gorgeous even in the dim light inside the shed.

Also: laughing at him.

Blood flooded Ben's face and turned it a bright shade of pink.

Poe's chuckles turned into full-blown laughter, and then he was running towards him, and Ben rose to his feet just in time to be hit by a Poe-shaped hurricane. Later he wouldn't be able to say who kissed whom first, just that Poe's tongue felt like heaven as it slipped into his mouth, and he gave the sweetest little moan when Ben's hands landed on his ass.

BB-8 trilled smugly and bumped into Ben's leg.

"You're here? What are you doing here? How did you get here? _When_ did you get here?" As soon as their lips parted Poe was all questions and excitement, and then he was already yanking at Ben's hand. "Never mind, you've got to see this! I got my new X-Wing, I told you about it, it's the…"

Ben yanked back. "Poe?"

He waited till his lover's warm brown eyes were on him again. Seven months apart, and he still looked at Ben like he meant the world to him. Ben's heart skipped a beat. With every time they parted, and reunited again, he believed a little bit more that Poe would never stop looking at him like this.

Ben's hand cupped Poe's cheek, he rubbed the pad of his thumb over his bottom lip and got close again, pressed flush against Poe. They were no longer hidden from prying eyes, they stood right in front of the shed, but he didn't care, and by the looks of it, neither did Poe. "Show me the ship later?"

Poe gulped. His gaze dropped to Ben's lips, and went up to his eyes again. "Later."

Then it was Poe yanking him along again, his fingers interlaced with Ben's. His hands were calloused in different places than Ben's, but his grip was as firm as his, and his steps were just barely on the proper side of hurried as he dragged him back towards the pilots' barracks.

" _Hey! What's with me? You promised me an oil bath if I fetched Poe!_ "


	2. Chapter 2

**Lift-Off From Mirrin Prime**

 **by Artemis1000**

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 **Chapter 2**

The first time Poe had told his squad he would be spending his leave on a freighter, they had thought he was joking.

The second time they had known him well enough to realize he was telling the truth, and promptly declared that he had to be the greatest weirdo in galactic history. _Or maybe just the greatest ship nerd ever_ , Muran had added, as if that made it better. Maybe it did, since all of them loved space ships a little bit more than most people would consider reasonable. It came with being a pilot.

Nobody thought it truly odd anymore these days, but Poe still received plenty of teasing. It had become a tradition, just like him complaining to Ben about the teasing had become part of this tradition.

"I don't know what they're on about. There's nothing weird about being a pilot who spends his time off piloting," he informed Ben.

Ben looked up from his calculations. He was sitting in the Falcon's pilot chair, while Poe occupied the co-pilot chair, a rare honor since he was normally relegated to the backseat. "You're not piloting anything. My Dad would sooner let a Wampa pilot the Falcon than you."

Poe grinned and folded his hands behind his head. "Your Dad likes me."

"Deep down."

"Deep, deep down."

They shared a grin.

"He's also going to murder you if he finds out that you propped your feet up in his cockpit."

Poe made a grand show out of waggling his eyebrows, and not taking his feet down. "I remember _other_ parts of me being pinned against these controls, Solo."

Ben's blush was all the reward he needed. The transition into hyperspace was a lot jerkier than normal, but it was worth the unpleasant flip-flop his belly made just for knowing he had flustered Ben so thoroughly.

"So it's back to Nal Hutta then, Dad and Uncle Chewie should be just about done with the negotiation when we get back," Ben remarked, trying his best for casual, and just sounding very awkward and not-casual. "We can load the cargo, and be on our way with no time lost."

Poe didn't mention the fuel spent on taking the Falcon halfway across the galaxy just to pick him up. He sure wasn't complaining, but Han Solo must have liked him a lot better than he would ever admit, for he had never complained, neither about all the time nor the money spent on making sure that Poe and Ben could spend every leave together.

He nodded innocently. "Uhuh." He stalked forward, crossing what little distance separated him from Ben, and clutched the headrest to both sides of Ben's head, effectively pinning him to the pilot's chair. "It's cute how you try to pretend we're having a completely normal conversation."

Ben scowled. "We _are_ having a completely normal conversation."

"Uhuh."

"We are!"

Poe's already wide grin got even wider. "Uhuh."

It was Ben who surged forward and silenced him with a bruising kiss. Poe laughed into it and straddled his thighs – not for the first time grateful that the egg-shaped pilot chairs had no armrests.

He nipped at Ben's lips, and moaned his appreciation when Ben's tongue slipped into his mouth. "Finally," he groaned against Ben's mouth, "thought I'd have to wait forever for my proper welcome."

The sound Ben made when Poe's hands slipped under his vest were absolutely delicious, topped only by the strangled whine when Poe's fingers wriggled under his shirt as well.

Poe paused, and basked in the growl it earned him.

"You're the scoundrel and I'm the dutiful soldier. Shouldn't it be you robbing me of my innocence?" Poe shot him a woeful look. "I'm feeling robbed by not being robbed here, Ben!"

Ben's laughter was so worth it, even if he made a big show of yowling at the thwack to the back of his head. "Laser brain."

He shrugged, completely unabashed, and waggled his eyebrows. "Hah. Gotta try my best for the man I love, even if he's a grouch." True, that. Ben was grumpy half the time, and grave enough for a man twice his age the rest of the time. Chewbacca said that was the lingering Jedi in him, but Poe suspected it was his Organa side.

Ben's breath hitched.

Nine years of dating, and Ben still got caught off guard every time Poe casually announced his love for him as a matter of course. It was one of the many small things Poe found endearing about him.

So much was predictable; what he didn't see coming was Ben getting up with Poe still clinging to him, and starting to walk them out of the cockpit. He was tall and strong, for sure, but he carried Poe so effortlessly that he had to be using the Force.

"Hey! Hey! What are you doing?" he protested, not because he minded being carried, but just because you had to protest when your ridiculously tall boyfriend lugged you around as if you weighed nothing. It was a matter of pride.

Ben answered him only with laughter, right until Poe silenced it with another kiss.

They didn't make it to his bed, not even into his quarters.

Poe's back slammed into the wall two doors down from Ben's, and he laughed even as he tugged frantically at Ben's blaster holster, and then at the fastenings of his pants. "Made it to your hallway. That's a new record for round one."

"Shut up, Dameron."

Poe's grin was the most shit-eating you could possibly manage with your boyfriend's hand down your pants. " _Make me_ , Solo."


End file.
